Surprise! More Consumers Want Windows on a Tablet Than iOS or Android

I've been saying for a while now that Apple fanatics are underestimating the demand for Windows on an iPad-like tablet, and that many consumers probably walk into Apple Stores to see the iPad but then walk out without one when they discover it doesn't run Windows or Microsoft Office. This leads me to further believe that Windows 8 will be enormously successful on iPad-like tablets.

Well, now it's no longer just a supposition.

Peter Kafka at All Things D reports today that a new survey from Boston Consulting Group confirms my beliefs about tablets and that 42 percent of US consumers would like to buy a tablet that runs Windows, compared to just 27 percent for iOS and 20 percent for Android.

Turns out Boston Consulting Group isn't the only one with data to back this up. A Forrester poll from earlier this year showed similar results: "Only 9 percent of consumers considering buying a tablet actively prefer an Android tablet — compared with 16 percent who prefer iOS and 46 percent who prefer Windows."

"When we survey consumers, it becomes very clear that Windows is still a very popular brand," Forrester's Sarah Rotman Epps told All Things D. "Apple has sold tens of millions of iPads, but Microsoft has sold more than 400 million Windows 7 devices. What that says to me is that there's a huge opportunity that Microsoft has left untapped so far."